The Marshfield Clinic family is committed to making a positive impact on our patients and our community. We are here every step of the way to support you in making the best decisions about your health and wellbeing, from research and prevention to diagnosis and treatment. So you won't only live your life, but shine.

Five things to know about innovation

Page Image

Page Content

​​​​​​Have you ever had an idea that will improve patient care but had no idea how to implement it? These tips will help move your idea from your mind to the market and start changing the world of health care.

1. Reframe the Question

If innovators were cartoon characters, the ratio of floating question marks to light bulbs over their heads would be 1,000 to 1. These question marks don't represent the same question over and over, though.

The more questions asked in the beginning, the more problems the invention will solve.

2. Collaborate

Inventions with few collaborators usually result in limited potential.

As much as you want to keep your idea between you, your lab notebook, and perhaps the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), collaboration provides the extra polish needed to attract additional resources and potentially investors down the road.

Ask us and we can connect you with as many resources and skillsets you'll need.

3. First to File

When in doubt, we want to protect! With the United States PTO changing from First to Invent
(where an inventor could rely on lab notes to prove he was first to invent) to First to File ("You Snooze, You Lose"), it is more important than ever to get your Invention Disclosure Form in the Applied Sciences.

You can do this even if you are still working out the details of your invention. If applicable, we create a provisional patent, which will essentially buy one year to form a full application, and takes about a third of the effort. In other words, we help you build your moat first, then your fortress.